Blown away on Kids' Day

Youngsters take off at the start of the 1K run, part of Kids Day, held April 30 at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu. More than 1,000 children and their parents took part in the day's activities.

Photo by Andrea Howry / Lighthouse

Aiyana Woods, 11, finishes up a potted plant during Kids' Day. "I'm making it for my dad," she said of AZC William Woods, who's currently deployed with VAW-113. "We'll save it for when he gets back," added mom, Jennifer.

Photo by Andrea Howry / Lighthouse

Jacob Williams, 5, shows off the visor he made at Kids' Day. He came with his brother, Jonathan, 3, and his mom and dad, Carmen and YN3 Jerimee Williams of NMCB 40.

Photo by Andrea Howry / Lighthouse

Reece Pickett, 6, does a taste test while decorating a sugar cookie at Kids' Day. He came with his brother, Kyle, 8, and mom and dad, Beth and Spence Pickett, a structural engineer with NAVFAC ESC.

Photo by Andrea Howry / Lighthouse

A Tae Kwon Do demonstration designed to pique interest in classes that will soon be offered through youth sports programs at Naval Base Ventura County was one of many Kids’ Day activities.

Photo by Andrea Howry / Lighthouse

After playing with the color markers, Ashlyn Torgesen, 3, finally switches to foam stickers to place on her picture frame. Ashlyn is the daughter of Aspen and Lt. Russell Torgesen of NMCB 4.

Photo by Andrea Howry / Lighthouse

Presley Richert, 4, gets creative at Kids' Day. "We came to let her play and have some fun," said her dad, AT2 John Richert of Fleet Readiness Center Southwest.

Photo by Andrea Howry / Lighthouse

Proud of the chef’s hat he colored, Coleman Richardson, 2, looks for another activity during Kids’ Day. Coleman is the son of Anna and BU1 Jeffrey Richardson of NMCB 4.

Photo by Andrea Howry / Lighthouse

Jacob Asencios, 4, son of NCCS Cristobal Asencios of the Navy Recruiting District Los Angeles, finds that bubbles and a windy day make for a fun moment during Kids’ Day.

The wind tried mightily, but it couldn’t blow away the kids nearly as well as a Tae Kwon Do demonstration, battling robots, or, for 3-year-old Ashlyn Torgesen, color markers.

“She’s really into markers,” Ashlyn’s mom, Aspen, said as her daughter sorted through dozens of colored markers at one of the many craft tables set up at Kids’ Day, held on a windy April 30 at the Picnic Pavilion, Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) Point Mugu.

Organizers estimated that more than 1,000 people stopped by to let children enjoy the four hours of activities, which ranged from a demonstration of military working dogs to a 1K run to a bubble-making table, a big hit given the wind.

“Kids’ Day is planned to be a day of fun for military children,” said Monica James, NBVC’s school liaison officer and one of the event organizers. “Since April is Month of the Military Child, this is an opportunity for NBVC to recognize the sacrifices of military children by allowing a day for them to play, learn and spend quality time with their parents.”

From toddlers to teenagers, kids took advantage of the opportunity to make a picture frame, pot a plant, design a visor, make a pendant filled with colored sand and decorate — and then eat — a sugar cookie.

“It does seem that everyone is enjoying themselves, so I consider this day a success,” James said.

A crowd gathered to watch Tony Nares and his team show off their Tae Kwon Do skills — a chance to promote the Tae Kwon Do classes that the base’s new youth sports coordinator, Brett Lane, will soon be offering.

They also laughed their way through a performance by Mad Science, which teaches kids about chemistry and physics with exploding balloons and odd odors — always popular with kids.

Beth and Spence Pickett brought their boys, Reece, 6, and Kyle, 8, to Kids’ Day and were surprised at the many activities.

“We wanted to get the kids outside on this beautiful day,” said Spence Pickett, a structural engineer at the Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center. “This is great!”

Bubbles, pinwheels, visors — so much to do and little Ashlyn Torgesen, daughter of Lt. Russell Torgesen of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4, was perfectly satisfied with the markers. She picked through pink, orange and green, then finally switched over to little foam stickers to finish decorating her picture frame.